DIGITAL EVIDENCE MANAGEMENT THE CASE FOR CLOUD VERSUS ON-PREMISE SOLUTIONS
I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY POLIZEI 2020 AIMS TO “CREATE A COMMON, MODERN AND UNIFORM INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE FOR GERMAN POLICE IN THE FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS. AS A RESULT, POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO PERFORM THEIR TASKS ANYTIME, ANYWHERE.” Based on Axon’s experience of building similar platforms for police across the globe, this paper looks at how a centralised Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS) could support German police forces in saving time by accessing consolidated data and automating and accelerating key workflows such as evidence collection and the sharing of case files.
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Axon provides this analysis in the knowledge that police forces and agencies – even those from different countries – often share common goals when it comes to weighing up the question of how to build and run DEMS. They want to free their officers to spend more time policing. They want to spend public money wisely. And they want to do everything in their power to protect and secure their data.
AXON PUBLIC SAFETY GERMANY SE Hugo-Junkers-Straße 3 Gebäude 115 60386 Frankfurt am Main
As explained in this document, these goals are not mutually exclusive.
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CHRISTIAN SCHERF Country Manager Deutschland, Österreich & Schweiz cscherf@axon.com
de.axon.com
I CONTENTS PAGE
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TITLE
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2 2.1 2.2
INTRODUCTION Axon’s DEMS solution Axon Evidence deployment options
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3 3.1i 3.1ii 3.1iii 3.1iv 3.1v 3.1vi 3.1vii 3.1viii 3.1ix 3.2 3.2i 3.2ii 3.3
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SAFE AND SECURE DEPLOYMENT OF DEMS Legislation: Data sovereignty, GDPR and the CLOUD Act Deploying Axon Evidence in a Polizei 2020 world Privacy and GDPR: EU data protection reform GDPR, the LED and Axon’s products Axon products – data protection features Ensuring transparency and the right to be informed Citizen identity protection Data processing records and accountability Retain data no longer than needed Security Axon Evidence Running Axon Evidence in a classified cloud Removing data silos with Axon Evidence
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4 4.1i 4.1ii 4.1iii 4.1iv 4.1v 4.1vi
E.COM AND POLIZEI 2020: HOW COULD E.COM BE USED BY THE GERMAN POLICE? Examples of simplified workflows Sharing digital evidence with prosecutors and legal teams Sharing digital evidence between UK police forces and the UK’s CPS Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) case study Applying Axon Evidence to police workflows in Germany User roles by profile
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THE RELATIVE COSTS OF CLOUD VERSUS ON-PREMISE DEMS Comparing the costs of a cloud versus an on-prem solution Continuous value: The Axon Evidence promise
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DEPLOYING AXON EVIDENCE Project timeline Integration details
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PRICING MODELS
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ABOUT AXON
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2. INTRODUCTION THE ERA OF DIGITAL EVIDENCE IS CHANGING POLICING. DIGITAL WORKFLOWS ARE SUPPORTING NEW WAYS OF WORKING THAT CAN ASSIST THE ENTIRE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, FROM MAKING IT EASIER TO BUILD CASES, TO REDUCING PAPERWORK, TO EASING THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION BETWEEN PROSECUTING AUTHORITIES AND, ULTIMATELY, INCREASING SUCCESSFUL PROSECUTIONS. But with benefits come challenges: not least the spiralling volumes of data collected from a growing range of sources, whether from police systems such as officers’ body-worn cameras, interview rooms, custody suites, vehicles, the public, CCTV or other systems. The Los Angeles Police Department recently disclosed that in one year (from January 2016 to January 2017) it had generated 33 years’ worth of video data to analyse. As new technologies come on stream – such as live streaming from body-worn video – the data that agencies hold will increase exponentially. What’s more, police forces must find ways to ingest, catalogue and store, secure, search and share data that comply with regulations relating to data protection and privacy, evidential integrity and file sharing.
Indeed, building a Digital Evidence Management system (DEMS) demands considerable time, expertise and resources. And, as we move forward, there will be increasing demand for agencies to better uncover the value in their data from numerous sources (both structured and unstructured) – using advanced techniques including AI and machine learning. Some agencies are already using these technologies to, for example, predict crime before it happens to more effectively allocate resources. However, building these systems requires new, and costly, skill sets. At Axon, we’re here to help you take advantage of advances in technology as cost-efficiently as possible.
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I INTRODUCTION
I 2.1 AXON’S DEMS SOLUTION At a broad level there are two major areas to consider when deploying a DEMS solution. The first is the interface and application to manage key tasks – these include ingesting evidence (e.g. from officers’ cameras), searching it and redacting it, cataloguing it, creating case files and ensuring everything is secure. The second is the choice of where to run the application and securely house its data. Axon Evidence addresses these issues. Axon’s proven, centralised DEMS solution provides a complete chain of custody to evidential standards for a range of digital files. It’s been deployed by 7,500 agencies globally across different infrastructures to securely manage their digital evidence. Most customers make the decision to partner with Axon based on the calculation that using Axon’s proven DEMS solution, as opposed to investing in building an equivalent bespoke system, can significantly reduce capital expenditure (CapEx) costs. Similarly, agencies do not need to set aside money for ongoing development. Instead, our innovation teams are continually evolving the solution to add new features, from using novel AI techniques to extract insights from data to enhancing our security protocols using blockchain, and more. These advances are made available through standard software updates.
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I 2.2 AXON EVIDENCE DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS Axon Evidence offers versatile deployment options: it can be deployed using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) over a classified cloud, as a dedicated on-premise solution or a combination of both. Many of Axon’s customers opt to deploy Axon Evidence using the SaaS model run over a classified cloud. This model bundles two components into a single, per-seat licence – a powerful, ready-to-go DEMS and a robust classified cloud platform to run the application and manage all storage requirements. Using this approach removes the need to develop, manage and continuously evolve a DEMS, while the classified cloud platform also offers a range of benefits as shown in the table on the following page.
I INTRODUCTION
Table 1: Benefits of a classified cloud
CLASSIFIED CLOUD
BENEFITS
A classified cloud is configured to match the customer’s security, data and server infrastructure needs and is located and run in-country
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The cost of running a cloud solution is generally more favourable than buying and hosting dedicated servers
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SaaS deployments can take minutes
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There is no need for enterprises to purchase, manage and maintain on-premise hardware and application infrastructure
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Servers and systems perpetually upgrade
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Rental costs are predictable
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Dedicated, experienced security teams protect the platform
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A vast networks of servers– with redundancy – protect against failures
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Infinite scalability ensures that the solution can seamlessly accommodate rising data volumes
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It’s easy to instantly share files with third parties
It’s particularly important to highlight that, given the volume of evidence agencies are generating, a cloud solution is infinitely more versatile and scalable. And all costs are transparent and predictable when adding additional computing resources. Access to computing resources on tap is essential because evolving technologies – such as AI and Big Data analytics – will consume more processing power. For example, a police force in the UK is using an AI tool to assess the risk of self-harm when a suspect is processed into the custody suite. This application alone would stress the computing power available in its local
police stations and this particular agency has decided to move to cloud computing. Indeed, speeding or powering up an on-premise solution to meet day-to-day business as usual and new demands is costly, time consuming and complex. But, with cloud-based software, initial deployments are straightforward and the platform can seamlessly flex to meet changing needs – in minutes. This said, agencies do raise questions and concerns about using the cloud, not least because evidence and personal identities are so sensitive. Some of the common issues customers raise include: I7
I INTRODUCTION
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The CLOUD Act and data sovereignty: Data sovereignty is the concept that digital data is subject to the laws of the country in which it is processed. Using cloud systems to run apps often entails cross-border data transfers, which could create compliance challenges for German police forces. What’s more, concerns have been raised that the 2018 CLOUD Act could potentially see the US government request access to data held on individuals by US tech companies in overseas jurisdictions. The EU has expressed misgivings over the implications of the CLOUD Act. Moreover, German government ministers and privacy advocates have also called for German police forces to partner with cloud service providers who are subject to European data protection law.
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General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): GDPR sets high standards for the processing and protection of personal data. Government agencies and police forces often raise questions as to whether cloud-based DEMS are fully GDPR compliant.
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Cloud security: While many agencies now run their DEMS over the cloud, others are less sure about following suit. The main reason for this is the long-held feeling
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that the security of a cloud server is inherently weaker than an onpremise system. And, despite the rapid growth in cloud usage – by 2020 as much as 83% of enterprise workloads could be run in the cloud – in a recent survey, 66% of IT professionals indicated that doubts about security may inhibit further investment in the platform1. •
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs): When using a third-party DEMS, many agencies are rightly concerned about how easy it is to customise it to accept data from any source and connect it to other applications such as Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) or a Records Management System.
The following section examines these issues and Axon’s response to them as well as advising on the recommended approach for deploying Axon Evidence in Germany. Section 4 moves on to analyse how Axon Evidence can streamline workflows for the country’s police forces and agencies and section 5 includes a discussion of the total cost of ownership of a cloud versus an onpremise solution ■
1 - Cloud Vision 2020: The Future of the Cloud. LogicMonitor
3. QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SAFE AND SECURE DEPLOYMENT OF DEMS I 3.1i LEGISLATION: DATA SOVEREIGNTY, GDPR AND THE CLOUD ACTS The Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (MoI) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (MoE) have both voiced concerns about the CLOUD Act, especially over whether US cloud providers could be subpoenaed to provide data held on servers in Germany. Indeed, the MoI has stated that the reliance on foreign cloud providers, particularly US tech companies, is a threat to Germany’s digital sovereignty. Leading politicians including Horst Seehofer, Federal Minister, MoI, have made clear that, to ensure Germany’s digital sovereignty, the government could only work with providers that comply with European data standards. And Federal Minister, MoE, Peter Altmaier, has reiterated his plans to promote European cloud solutions in order to raise Europe’s international competitiveness in a data-driven economy and provide local platforms to ensure reliable data sovereignty and availability. As a US-based tech business, Axon is fully aware of the sensitivity surrounding the CLOUD Act and has ensured that its solutions can be deployed in a way that respects the requirements of European countries.
I 3.1ii DEPLOYING AXON EVIDENCE IN A POLIZEI 2020 WORLD Customers can deploy Axon Evidence to their specifications and elect where to store their data. With respect to recent discussions with stakeholders from Polizei 2020, our recommendation would be to deploy Axon Evidence in a classified cloud: in this instance, a BSI C5-certified German classified cloud environment with data centres located inside the country that are managed by local partners and approved personnel. A range of robust and proven APIs are available to enable disparate systems to securely talk and share data with Axon Evidence. This allows police services to configure and determine different workflows and infrastructure management for each system as needed. For example, a police service could facilitate the creation of digital case files whereby Axon’s Records Management System can seamlessly pull any digitally stored evidence into a report. I9
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I 3.1iii PRIVACY AND GDPR: EU DATA PROTECTION REFORM In 2018, EU data protection reform came into force. GDPR was part of the legislative package and was subject to widespread news coverage and industry awareness around the processing of EU-citizens’ personal data. But of more interest is the data protection reform that covered personal data processed for the purpose of law enforcement and criminal justice – the Law Enforcement Directive (or LED). The LED aims to protect the right of individuals and the protection of their personal data while guaranteeing a high level of public security. It applies to both crossborder and national processing of data by EU member states’ competent authorities for the purpose of criminal law enforcement. Typically, any processing of data that qualifies under LED is not subject directly to GDPR provisions. That said, many of the same protections granted to citizens by GDPR are similar under the LED. However, a key difference between GDPR and the LED is how the reforms are integrated into member state law. GDPR, being regulation, applies to all member states as written. However, as a directive, the LED must be transposed by member states into national law. Germany has already implemented the LED. The new Act retains the old title of the Bundesdatenschutzgesetz but the content has changed completely, with the Act’s articles complementing GDPR or regulating areas outside the scope of it.
I 3.1iv GDPR, THE LED AND AXON’S PRODUCTS Axon is confident that its solutions enable customers to implement governance over the handling and sharing of digital evidence to meet their requirements under GDPR and the LED as transposed into member state national law. Beyond current product design and functionality, Axon is also committed to continuing to develop and enhance its products to ensure customers can meet data protection and privacy expectations from their communities and regulatory environment when using its solutions.
I 3.1v AXON PRODUCTS – DATA PROTECTION FEATURES Axon’s products have been developed over many years in close discussions with thousands of agencies worldwide. We refine them, continually, from the feedback we receive from users. With privacy and data protection a critical concern in all jurisdictions, I 10
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we have embedded a range of features into our products to ensure compliance with privacy legislation. This applies not only to Axon Evidence but our products used by officers in the field, including body-worn cameras.
I 3.1vi ENSURING TRANSPARENCY AND THE RIGHT TO BE INFORMED It is important to ensure that the public are aware that they may be recorded by police officers’ cameras. It is vital, too, to deploy robust and secure workflows to manage videos – workflows that agencies can explain to citizens and legislators as part of usage protocols and policies. Highlights of our work in these areas include: •
Figure 1: Axon Body 2 Camera
Recording alerts: Axon cameras can be marked with warning labels, indicating that the device records audio and video. A red light can also be configured in the centre of the device when it is recording so citizens are aware that they can be captured on video. These safeguards are especially useful in busy situations – such as football stadiums or demonstrations – when officers may not be able to verbally warn people that their cameras are on.
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Limiting access to videos and optimising security: Axon’s cameras do not have a front-facing screen. This means that what is recorded cannot be seen by officers. In addition, Axon Evidence includes powerful controls to define who can watch the videos, who can classify them and more. Also, if desired, an officer can only be the carrier of the body camera and may never see the images that his or her camera has captured.
The camera can be configured so that when in recording mode a red light will blink in the main body of the camera making it quite visable that the camera is recording
Figure 2: Alerting people that Axon cameras are recording
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The camera only records
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It does not allow footage to be seen or shared
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Agency knows no one will see the evidence before they do
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No front facing screen
Figure 3: Axon 3 Body Camera vs other body camera with screen
I 3.1vii CITIZEN IDENTITY PROTECTION To protect people’s identity, Axon Evidence Redaction Studio allows masks to be placed (manually or automatically using AI) on the faces of people, children and objects such as number plates and screens before sharing it with other agencies or third parties.
I 3.1viii DATA PROCESSING RECORDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY Axon Evidence is designed to be flexible so that it can be customised to comply with the data protection and processing legislation at national and regional level. Part of the Polizei 2020 programme’s guidelines around data protection require that data is administered centrally and made accessible with a purposebound audit trail. It states: “The Polizei 2020 programme aims to improve intelligent data protection. Personal data is not stored several times in different files, but only once. Access to the data is regulated by dynamic and targeted authorization concepts, which are far more differentiated and protect fundamental rights than the current regulations. This establishes a modern, differentiated and dynamic access management system that meets the requirements for targeted and accurate data I 12
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protection. Data is administered centrally and made accessible with a marking of a differentiated, purpose-bound processing.” Axon’s DEMS solution can be centrally administered and is designed to ensure a robust and secure chain of evidence. Every action carried out in Axon Evidence is automatically logged – from uploading a video, to viewing, cataloguing, redaction (facial masks), sharing and deletion – and registered in the system, and can be audited at any time. The logs include the action, the date of the action and its author. The system has two audits: •
Video Audit: All actions taken in this video, who recorded it, who uploaded it to the system, who viewed it and when, who catalogued it and more.
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User Audit: An audit of all the actions carried out in the system by individual users.
When it comes to deleting videos, all files marked for deletion will go through a quarantine period and are not deleted until the quarantine period of seven days elapses. Even when a video is deleted, the file with the audit of everything that happened with the video remains in the system.
I 3.1ix RETAIN DATA NO LONGER THAN NEEDED Axon Evidence provides the ability to create policies, maintain them and assign them to evidence. Categories include policy settings for evidence retention and restricted access for especially sensitive evidence. This allows agencies and police forces to custom-design data retention settings to match policies.
I 3.2 SECURITY All Axon products undergo rigorous security analysis and assessments during development and throughout their life cycle. Axon also commissions device security experts to identify vulnerabilities in advance of a malicious user using them to their advantage. Axon’s hardware and software engineering teams are trained on developing secure products and performing peer code reviews to identify potential vulnerabilities. In short, we do a lot to ensure that every Axon product, application or piece of software meets police forces’ demanding security expectations. The key features of our approach to security are discussed on the following page. I 13
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I 3.2i AXON EVIDENCE ll Axon products undergo rigorous security analysis and assessments during development and throughout their life cycle. Axon also commissions device security experts to identify vulnerabilities in advance of a malicious user using them to their advantage. Axon’s hardware and software engineering teams are trained on developing secure products and performing peer code reviews to identify potential vulnerabilities. In short, we do a lot to ensure that every Axon product, application or piece of software meets police forces’ demanding security expectations. The key features of our approach to security are discussed below: •
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Data encryption: As well as robust security features like audit trails, customisable permissions and strict authentication protocols, Axon Evidence encrypts data both in transit and at rest. Axon Evidence uses secure transfer methods to ensure data integrity across integrated systems. Axon Evidence employs the SH2-256bit hashing algorithm to verify incoming data. The application validates data integrity before and after upload, capturing all events in detailed audit trails. By way of an example workflow, as a video is uploaded it is broken into smaller blocks. Prior to upload, blocks are hashed using the SHA-2 algorithm to generate a unique fingerprint or checksum. The blocks are then uploaded and, on receipt, are hashed again using the SHA-2 algorithm. If an identical checksum is generated, the file on the camera matches the
ACCESS TO THE DATA IS REGULATED BY DYNAMIC AND TARGETED AUTHORIZATION CONCEPTS, WHICH ARE FAR MORE DIFFERENTIATED AND PROTECT FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS THAN THE CURRENT REGULATIONS. uploaded block, meaning the block is unaltered from its original state on the camera. The block upload process is repeated until the entire MP4 is transferred. Using the same method that was used to validate the blocks, a contiguous checksum of the entire file will be evaluated to ensure that the MP4 file has been uploaded successfully and is identical to when it was recorded. Once Axon Evidence confirms receipt, the video is deleted from the camera and the upload process moves to the next file. •
Industry standards: Axon’s Information Security programme is ISO/IEC 27001:2013 Certified, ISO/ IEC 27018:2014 Certified, and has been awarded CSA STAR Attestation. Axon’s Information Security program is designed and operated to deliver a comprehensive, continual improvement-based management system to protect Axon Evidence and customer data within it.
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I 3.2ii RUNNING AXON EVIDENCE IN A CLASSIFIED CLOUD Given the sensitivity of evidence, many IT leaders are instinctively uncomfortable when it comes to storing data in the cloud and may prefer to walk into an on-premise server room and see that their data is neatly locked away. While this is understandable, the view that security is less robust when it comes to cloud systems is discredited. For example, thousands of police forces worldwide use cloud services and across the health sector – whose data is highly sensitive – research labs, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and more, are using the cloud. These enterprises carry out detailed due diligence and have placed their trust in the cloud because of, not despite, security. Their decision to use the cloud reflects the fact that major vendors employ thousands of people whose job it is to anticipate and eliminate the amorphous threats posed by cyber attacks, malware, viruses and more, and update cloud systems instantly. The work of security teams is exceptionally demanding considering that, as well as the usual range of malicious attacks from lone or groups of hackers, state actors are becoming more active in targeting sensitive federal data. The impact of WannaCry is one such example of the threat posed by these types of attacks. Attempting to build highperformance security teams in-house to defend on-premise systems is a costly undertaking. It is one that most of Axon’s customers are reluctant to take on. Instead they place their trust in the cloud. It is a key reason why many of our customers retain small security teams who liaise with their counterparts at Axon and work with the security groups at our cloud partners. We make sure our partners apply the following approach to cyber security:
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Adaptive threat prevention – to provide continuous threat assessments.
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Intelligent threat assessment – to detect threats and share intelligence simultaneously, with alerts indicating threat levels to allow police services to prioritise their responses.
I 3.3 REMOVING DATA SILOS WITH AXON EVIDENCE Axon Evidence houses all captured evidence, the metadata associated with videos, and information about devices. However, other systems will contain operational details that can paint a better and more detailed picture of what officers are experiencing in the field. Moving information from these other systems into Axon Evidence is typically a manual process. But, with Axon’s Partner API programme, a secure link is established to enable police forces’ systems to seamlessly and automatically talk to Axon Evidence. When one system is updated, that same data is pushed through to the appropriate section of Axon Evidence. The Las Vegas Police Department is a good example of how the flexibility of the Partner API programme can help police services customise their systems and applications. It has created a sophisticated compliance reporting system that connects both its CAD and Axon Evidence data to predict whether a police officer should have recorded a video during their shift. The reporting system analyses the data and flags anomalies for the review in an automated way thus removing what used to be a laborious task. This consolidation has increased the department’s efficiency and removed a previously manual workflow ■ I 15
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4. AXON EVIDENCE AND POLIZEI 2020: HOW COULD E.COM BE USED BY THE GERMAN POLICE? AXON EVIDENCE IS THE MAIN DEMS SOLUTION FOR SOME OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST POLICE FORCES. MOVING TO A CENTRALISED DIGITAL EVIDENCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM CAN SIMPLIFY WORKFLOWS AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SAVE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF TIME. SOME OF THE EXAMPLES OF HOW IT COULD CREATE NEW, OR ENHANCE EXISTING, WORKFLOWS FOR GERMAN POLICE FORCES ARE DISCUSSED BELOW.
I 4.1i EXAMPLES OF SIMPLIFIED WORKFLOWS Axon’s police customers across the world work in different ways and in different regulatory environments. But a common efficiency delivered by Axon Evidence is the ability to easily share case files with third parties in the prosecution chain. I 16
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I 4.1ii SHARING DIGITAL EVIDENCE WITH PROSECUTORS AND LEGAL TEAMS Historically, sharing digital evidence has meant manually off-loading footage from a camera or smartphone (that may have been requisitioned from a citizen) and storing this on a CD or DVD that’s placed in a tamper-proof evidence bag in a secure repository. The discs are then couriered to third parties while in some countries police officers are even tasked with physically delivering the evidence – an expensive undertaking that takes them away from their duties. While these workflows have evolved over time, and are seen as the most robust way to manage digital evidence, there are drawbacks. Not the least of which is the fact that discs csn become corrupted and are easily lost as was recently the case in a sexual misconduct incident in Nordrhein-Westfalenn. Nor is it an challenge that is unique to Germany. In the UK the Crown Prosecution Service
has referred to the loss of evidence stored on DVDs including CCTV footage, 999 calls, and interview recordings as a "widespread issue". Indeed, as the volume of digital evidence grows exponentially if processes for managing it do not change the chances of DVDs being lost will grow. It will also become impractical from a time perspective for police officers to continue to manually process evidence in this way. Axon Evidence addresses these issues. It replaces paper-based processes and DVDs with electronic workflows. Created with help from police agencies, legal teams and prosecuting authorities, it features powerful encryption, simple electronic workflows, and a robust chain of evidence to help police teams more efficiently create, store, catalogue, search – and share – digital evidence. I 17
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I 4.1iii SHARING DIGITAL EVIDENCE BETWEEN UK POLICE FORCES AND THE UK’S CPS The collaboration with the CPS assisted Axon in developing a secure sharing link to seamlessly share digital evidence. A user with the appropriate permissions (permissions are defined and controlled in Axon Evidence) can share evidence by emailing a link to create an Axon Evidence account. The user sending the link will be able to dictate granular access control for this temporary user, including specifying what evidence they will have access to, what they are allowed to do with it and how long they will have access to it. The Axon Evidence account will allow the user to see the evidence that was expressly shared with them, and their actions are fully captured in the audit log.
SIMPLIFYING EVIDENCE SHARING
POLICE FORCE • Secure link generated • Link Pasted into disclosure document • Disclosure document sent to crown
THE CROWN
DEFENCE •
Link clicked
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Asked to register for Evidence. com account
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Only able to play back, see size, length and title, and download
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Disclosure document opened, link clicked
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Asked to log into Evidence.com account
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Only able to play back, see size length, title and download - If it needs to be shared with defence or court then the link is forwarded.
COURT •
Link clicked
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Log into Evidence.com account
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Only able to play back, see size, length and title, and download
Figure 4: Workflows for sharing digital evidence with prosecutors
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I 4.1iv METROPOLITAN POLICE SERVICE (MPS) CASE STUDY The MPS is using Axon Evidence as its primary DEMS. Highlights of its deployment are detailed below:
Table 2: MPS case study
THE OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES
Previously officers would burn evidence to DVDs before delivering them to the CPS. Officers had to burn a minimum of three DVDs for each piece of evidence so, if an incident was captured by CCTV, a dashcam and bodycam, nine DVDs were needed. This was costly and inefficient. It also created many risks – including that evidence would be lost, a lack of effective audit trails and poor security
THE NEW PROCESS
The MPS has integrated Axon Evidence with its digital case file system, COPA. Officers can make truncated clips, redact footage and tag evidence in a few simple steps, enabling the CPS to make quick decisions as to whether to prosecute cases. Officers have control over a range of permissions for who can view and download the evidence, enabling the CPS to share files with the defence and enable play back in court over any connected device
THE BENEFITS
Replacing cumbersome manual workflows with direct evidence sharing using Axon Evidence over the cloud has provided the MPS with substantial cost and resource savings
I 4.1v APPLYING AXON EVIDENCE TO POLICE WORKFLOWS IN GERMAN Based on the knowledge and insight built up through the deployment of Axon Evidence across the world, there are a number of areas where the solution could support German officers in reducing paperwork and completing tasks with greater automation and efficiency. Some examples are discussed in the figure overleaf: I 19
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Figure 5: Examples of more efficient workflows
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I 4.1vi USER ROLES BY PROFILE While no two customers’ data centre requirements are the same, there are some broad calculations that can help agencies compare the costs of a cloud versus an onpremise solution. These include:
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Axon Evidence provides all officers with a clear-cut way of organising data, with established retention periods, categories and restricted actions. This ensures that each user’s access is aligned with the agency’s policy
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Officers in the field don’t need to rely on highspeed internet to offload evidence – Axon can configure a tailored solution that uses the available infrastructure to support similar evidence management workflows to those in more urban environments
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Users will access a central repository for managing, reviewing and sharing digital evidence (in any format), using only a supported web browser – no other equipment is required
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Sharing relevant evidence with related teams is easy, efficient and secure
SUPPORT AND ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
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Axon Evidence has a simple interface that reduces the time spent searching for evidence and, with its seamless file sharing, saves time by replacing the creation and management of physical storage media such as DVDs
JUDICIAL SYSTEM
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Secure sharing (which ensures chain of custody) keeps your legal partners up to date and saves the time and energy spent preparing and securing physical media
FRONTLINE PATROL OFFICERS
SPECIALISED INVESTIGATION FORCES, FORENSICS, HOMICIDE INVESTIGATORS, ETC.
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Table 3: Examples of roles
5. THE RELATIVE COSTS OF CLOUD VERSUS ONPREMISE DEMS WHILE AXON EVIDENCE CAN BE ACCESSED IN ANY WAY AN AGENCY SEES FIT, THE VAST MAJORITY OF AXON’S POLICE CUSTOMERS DEPLOY THE SYSTEM IN THE CLOUD. AS THIS PAPER HAS INTIMATED, THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS FOR THIS, INCLUDING: •
Growing confidence in the security of the cloud: Cloud vendors have a security set-up that is difficult to match in-house (building an equivalent capability would be prohibitively expensive). What’s more, rolling out security patches or changes is also far easier in the cloud with everything managed by the vendor.
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The versatility of the cloud: It is easy to add new computing resources in the cloud and all costs are predictable. In contrast, in-house data centres may only have a life cycle of three to five years before everything needs to be refreshed.
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Building a private data network is complex: Building a network of private data centres (multiple redundant sites will be needed) for the type and volume of data that police forces are working with is no small undertaking. It can be done, but it is expensive and time consuming. While it’s possible to manage much of the work centrally, local police stations will need access to increased computing power and resources.
This will increase the expense and complexity. With the cloud – which offers unlimited capacity on tap – it’s easy for the platform to seamlessly flex to meet changing demands whether that is for increased computing power or more storage. •
Data volumes will grow exponentially: While the volumes of data are growing fast, from what Axon is seeing with its customers, this is just the start. 5G networks, live video streaming, new data sources (such as CCTV and video from citizens), and more, will see agencies ingesting and managing much more data in the future. What’s more, as agencies look for new ways to mine the value in this resource they will need more processing power. For these reasons, it’s increasingly difficult from a cost, space, power and security perspective for private clouds to keep up with the fast-changing demands of their organisations.
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I THE RELATIVE COSTS OF CLOUD VERSUS ON-PREMISE DEMS
I 5.1 COMPARING THE COSTS OF A CLOUD VERSUS AN ON-PREM SOLUTION While no two customers’ data centre requirements are the same, there are some broad calculations that can help agencies compare the costs of a cloud versus an on-premise solution. These include: •
•
Software: Building an on-premise solution requires the purchase of both the hardware and software, with the software options being to buy an off-the-shelf DEMS or design a bespoke solution. While we offer Axon Evidence as an on-premise option, when customers access it via SaaS they also receive a bundled price that includes the cloud storage platform and all associated services as part of each licence. Estimating data volumes: This can be done by looking at how many officers are in the field, how many incidents they attend daily, how many of those incidents are recorded, and in what format (e.g. HD or standard definition). Also, agencies need to estimate how much data they expect to ingest through other sources such as CCTV and videos submitted by the public.
•
Estimating the number of machines: The data volume figure provides a broad guideline of how many machines will be needed. Analysing what will be run on the servers (e.g. Big Data analytics) will help indicate the processing power needed.
•
Project and maintenance costs: The costs for the project team to define and deliver the system will need to be
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factored into the comparisons, as will a team to manage the platform once it is up and running. •
Space and power: Costs for building on-premise data centres, including ongoing hard expenditure for powering, securing and air conditioning sites, and any maintenance contracts will need to be assessed.
•
Security: Protecting an on-premise system 24x7 will require highly skilled security experts.
An indication of the comparative total cost of ownership of an on-premise solution versus a cloud system can be found on the following page. In general, the vast majority of Axon’s customers conclude that a SaaS solution is the most effective and cost-efficient option for their agency. Alongside the benefits above, customers also value the fact that Axon’s solution can be provisioned in a short space of time; typically a complete system is ready in just six months. This compares to the potentially protracted project timelines of building an on-premise solution. An example timeline for deploying Axon Evidence is discussed in section 6.
I THE RELATIVE COSTS OF CLOUD VERSUS ON-PREMISE DEMS
ON-PREMISE
CLOUD COMPETITOR
AXON
5–year cash outlay
$66,324,100
$1,949,150
Camera upgrades
$399,000
$399,000
Included
Additional Labour
$21,716,391
$20,216,391
$534,821
Total cost of ownership
$88,439,491
$22,564,541
$3,319,321
Axon saves you
$85,120,170
$19,245,220
576%
147%
$2,784,500
Additional Cost saving features: •
Prosecutor Platform
•
Case Management
•
Smart redaction
•
Open platform
•
Chain of Custody
Reduction in complaints needed to pay for program
22% Table 4: Cost of ownership comparison
I 5.2 CONTINUOUS VALUE: THE AXON EVIDENCE PROMISE Axon Evidence can readily support Polizei 2020’s current user and data volumes and can easily flex and scale as the programme grows. Axon Evidence is designed to receive data from Axon devices automatically, but it also supports digital evidence captured by third-party data sources. There is no hardware to purchase and no complex infrastructure to maintain. This means that there are no prohibitive staffing requirements or server upgrades to commit to over time. Monthly software updates are pushed by Axon automatically, so Germany’s police forces will always be at the forefront of evidence management technology with minimal investment and effort. As public safety’s leading tech firm, dedicated to saving lives and helping agencies and officers work with greater efficiency, Axon has hundreds of people continually improving Axon Evidence. Some of the projects they are working on include powerful AI and machine learning tools to simplify time-consuming tasks such as redaction. They
are also devising innovative voice recognition and video analysis technology that will automate records creation, such as taking eye-witness statements. Based on workflow analysis with test customers such tools could cut the amount of time police officers spend on paperwork by up to 30%. Axon’s other products include cameras, Conductive Electrical Devices (CED), software and mobile apps. Axon’s latest CED, the TASER 7, is the most powerful, effective and connected de-escalation device available. When armed, it switches on nearby Axon cameras to ensure transparency and protect the professionalism of officers. Axon’s new body-worn camera, Axon Body 3, is turning camera technology into a productive and protective partner for officers. For example, features like live video streaming will enable commanders to better assist and protect their officers and, with a powerful AI processor, it will in future be able to help automatically transcribe crime reports based on video footage ■ I 25
6. DEPLOYING AXON EVIDENCE I 6.1 PROJECT TIMELINE While specific timelines and resources are dependent on the applications interfacing with Axon Evidence and customer workflows, a baseline overview of a multi-pronged project is below. All timelines and dependencies are fully scoped and confirmed with customers during project discussions. Axon works with customers to prioritise initial channels and subsequent timelines and to add more as needed. TASK NAME
DURATION
Kick off, configuration, site survey
21 days
Planning project steps and milestones
34 days
DEM platform training
49 days
Implementation
95 days
Training programme Super Users, Admin
49 days
Testing and tweaking
45 days
Hand-over and sign-off, go-live Total project Lead Time
TIMELINE
4 days 157 days
Table 5: Typical project timeline
I 6.2 INTEGRATION DETAILS Axon conceptualises the migrations and integrations of different systems in an Axon DEMS as channels. Each system has its own database and structure and needs its own channel of communication to flow data into the proper places in the Axon DEMS. By scoping each channel separately and migrating/integrating by individual source, Axon’s processes mitigate complications of a ‘one size fits all approach’. Axon retains the custom development performed for each channel into an internal knowledge base of known channels. This ensures that previous work can be used in future projects to accelerate development and lower costs for customers. I 26
7. PRICING MODELS
8. ABOUT AXON
WITH MANY OF AXON’S CUSTOMERS PUBLICLY FUNDED, ITS COST MODELS ARE DESIGNED TO BE TRANSPARENT, ACCOUNTABLE AND VALUE FOR MONEY.
AS A LEADING PUBLIC SAFETY TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, AXON DEVELOPS THE AXON NETWORK OF ALWAYS CONNECTED PEOPLE, DEVICES AND APPS THAT ENABLES A NEW GENERATION OF POLICING.
To this end, it offers per-officer monthly subscriptions that spread costs over time to avoid the need for major upfront capital investment. And included in each subscription are free, ongoing software updates for hardware and applications – which often include major new features – a commitment to refresh hardware every 30 months to ensure that agencies benefit from the latest technology at no extra cost, and unlimited storage for each officer’s Axon Evidence account.
Axon helps to safeguard officers, the public and suspects by creating smart devices that defuse situations. It assists police forces in defending the truth by equipping police officers with body-worn and in-vehicle cameras that automatically collect a record of how events unfold. And whether evidence is collected by officers or the public, Axon’s applications make it easier and more cost effective to securely catalogue, manage and share it with third parties. Axon’s applications also streamline other common police workflows to boost efficiency – from video redaction to records creation – freeing officers to spend more time policing and less on paperwork ■
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT DE.AXON.COM
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